Controversial ordinance could go to Sterling Heights voters

A controversial non-discrimination ordinance was the focus outside the Sterling Heights Library when those soliciting signatures to put the measures to a vote and proponents of the city-council passed law converged. This photograph was submitted by one of the participants.

Sterling Heights’ controversial non-discrimination ordinance could be headed for a public vote.

A loose-knit group of residents submitted petitions to the Sterling Heights city clerk this week in hopes of putting to a public vote the ordinance adopted by city council in June.

The clerk must verify the signatures and determine if the petition circulators met the proper criteria before the measure can be placed on the ballot.

Approved unanimously by the city council in June, the ordinance prohibits discrimination against gays, lesbian and trans-gender persons in housing, accommodations and employment. Violation of the ordinance carries with it a maximum fine of $500.

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City resident Fred Kummer said the ordinance is too important to leave the decision to just seven city council members. The group’s motivation is simply to give voice to the entire electorate of the city.

“We’d like the citizens of Sterling Heights to make the decision,” he said.

Sterling Heights is one of nearly 40 cities in Michigan that adopted similar ordinances, but not without heated discourse. The city council discussed the issue during at least three public meetings before approving the ordinance at a session in June that lasted more than five hours.

The emotional issue drew comments from many who attended and spoke at those public meetings, both in favor of and opposed to the ordinance.

The ordinance still evokes high emotion. When petition gatherers solicited signatures Saturday in front of the Sterling Heights Public Library, City Council member Doug Skrzyniarz showed up in support of the ordinance he helped champion last June.

“(Skrzyniarz) had with him a sign on a stick that read: ‘Decline to sign’ on one side and ‘Say No to Bigotry’ on the other,” resident Timothy Townsend wrote in a letter to The Macomb Daily.

“He marched back and forth before the library steps loudly proclaiming this message … He seemed to think that denying my rights was a lark.”

Skrzyniarz acknowledged he protested against the petition gatherers and confirmed he carried the sign. But he denied he tried to intimidate either petition distributors or would-be signers.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I know what the rules are. There was no intimidation whatsoever of prospective signers.”

Skrzyniarz said residents seeking to gather signatures “have every right to try to get (the ordinance) on the ballot.” But he also said he has equal rights to oppose their efforts.

“Were they frustrated that we were there?” Skrzyniarz said. “You’re darned right.”

Council member Michael Taylor also appeared in support of the ordinance on different occasions, including Monday. He, too, denied allegations he tried to intimidate anybody.

“They (petition gatherers) even disputed that we had a right to be there,” Taylor said.

He described the opposing viewpoints on display as a “good old-fashioned First Amendment (exercise).”

He also said he would do “everything in my power” to ensure the non-discrimination ordinance remains on the books in Sterling Heights.

“Some things shouldn’t be subjected to a referendum,” Taylor said. “Civil rights is one of them.”